International Republican Institute

Loosely affiliated with the Republican Party, the International Republican Insitute (IRI) works closely with the the National Endowment for Democracy and United States foreign policy instruments, including the U.S. Department of State and U.S. Agency for International Development, to support economic and political development programs around the world. The organization is almost exclusively funded by the U.S. government and related agencies.

IRI's stated mission is to "support the growth of political and economic freedom, good governance and human rights around the world by educating people, parties and governments on the values and practices of democracy." However, it has also been linked to efforts to foment a violent military coup in Haiti. Max Blumenthal reports that Stanley Lucas is the program officer for the IRI's Haiti program. 

While based in Washington, D.C., IRI maintains offices around the world, including in Africa (Abuja, Nigeria; Luanda, Angola; and Nairobi, Kenya), Asia (Dili, East Timor; Jakarta, Indonesia; Phnom Phen, Cambodia; and Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia), Latin America (Caracas, Venezuela; Guatamela City, Guatamala; and Lima, Peru), Central and Eastern Europe (Belgrade, Serbia; Bratislava, Slovakia; Bucharest, Romania; Istanbul, Turkey; Skopje, Macedonia; Sofia, Bulgaria; Tirana Albania; and Zagreb, Croatia) and the former Soviet Union (Almaty, Kazakhstan; Baku, Azerbaijan; Belarus; Kyiv, Ukraine; Moscow, Russia; Tashkent, Uzbekistan; and Tblisi, Georgia).

"In 1994, the International Republican Institute (IRI) began a relationship with the South African Institute of Race Relations (SAIRR), a civil society organization, dedicated to implementing democracy-strengthening initiatives." 

IRI Board of Directors and Personnel includes major Republican foreign policy voices, and other prominent Republicans.

Contracts with Republican political advocacy firms
"'In December 2004, IRI contracted with Tony Marsh and Lance Copsey of the media consulting firm Marsh, Copsey & Scott to set up a Baghdad Media Center on behalf of the U.S. State Department. Its stated purpose was to assist Iraqi political parties and candidates in the upcoming January elections,' reported Muriel Kane in June 2006."

Contact information
1225 Eye Street, NW, Suite 700 Washington DC 20005 Phone: (202) 408-9450 Fax: (202) 408-9462 Email: info AT iri.org Web: http://www.iri.org

SourceWatch resources

 * Imperial terror in South America
 * Reporters Without Borders
 * Marsh, Copsey & Scott

Articles and other resources

 * International Republican Institute profile, NNDB.
 * Right Web Profile
 * Philip Agee, "Former CIA Agent Tells How U.S. Infiltrates Civil Society to Overthrow Governments," Information Clearing House, August 3, 2003.
 * "Tentacles of the International Republican Institute," People's Weekly World, March 13, 2004.
 * Andrew Wells-Dang, "When Democracy Promotion Turns Partisan: IRI in Cambodia," Right Web, April 5, 2004, viewed April 15, 2004.
 * Max Blumenthal, contibutor to Salon.com, authored an investigative piece that examines the role of the United States in destabilizing the democratically-elected government of Haiti's Jean Bertrand-Aristide through the International Republican Institute, a federally-funded, nonprofit political group backed by powerful Republicans close to the Bush administration.
 * Lisa Ashkenaz Croke and Brian Dominick, "Controversial U.S. Groups Operate Behind Scenes on Iraq Vote," The New Standard, December 13, 2004.
 * Ian Traynor,"US Campaign Behind the Turmoil in Kiev," Friday November 26, 2004 The Guardian, Friday November 26, 2004.
 * Mike McIntire, "Democracy Group Gives Donors Access to McCain," New York Times, July 28, 2008.